Whether we like it or not, wherever there are children, there will be halloween. Why, though, do families on Glasdir give halloween such prominence?
If you walk around Rhuthun/Ruthin's housing estates at this time of year you will see pockets of decorated houses for halloween but none compares to the entrance road to Glasdir, where it seems every house is bedecked with something. Just as it is at Christmas. We wonder why this is, for elsewhere it is nowhere near as profuse, even in similar suburbs.
Of course, the economy is no doubt thankful for the fillip that is halloween but money not spent on halloween these days would go elsewhere, so we doubt the halloween effect is tangible any more.
And, in spite of the cost of living crisis, there seems to be no stopping Glasdir families in outdoing each other. Or, perhaps, the thought of food (sweets) at other people's expense is a bonus when our bills are out of control.
Why Glasdir?
Is it, then, because of the socio-economic class associated with Glasdir? We would hazard a guess that in the UK, social class does play a part. The more middle classes will be less inclined to decorating their fronts gaudily. But similar housing stock to Glasdir does not appear anywhere near over the top in terms of the proportion of houses involved and intensity of the decoration.
Is it because there are more young families in Glasdir? We suspect that there is a higher percentage of such families here and this may therefore account in part for why halloween seems so prolific. Llys Famau probably has the same proportion of families yet halloween is much less evident there, is restrained and more 'passive' .
Is it because Glasdir families have to show us all they can afford to do something? Perhaps halloween salves their overt need to seek attention. But this still doesn't answer why more pay attention to dressing up their homes in Glasdir, as others elsewhere will feel the same. On the other hand, halloween is as stressful and even humiliating as is Christmas for families living close to poverty and perhaps those on Glasdir want to show their Facebook followers they are solvent and not in that particular category. And, here, maybe there's a little one-upmanship.
Or is it perhaps a combination of all three of the above?
